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Why is Girl in Red dubbed 'problematic'? Queer singer trolled after Taylor Swift's praise: 'She's not lesbian'

A lot of social media users trolled the Norwegian alternative musician and dubbed her as 'problematic' once again in relation to an October 2020 tweet

Global pop star Taylor Swift did not shy away from revealing what she is currently listening to on a loop as she took to her Instagram stories to ask her fans to “drop everything now” and listen to singer’s Marie Ulven debut album ‘If I Could Make It Go Quiet’. Ulven, who is better known by her stage name Girl in Red also responded to Swift’s sweet gesture by sharing the pop icon’s story on one of her Instagram stories.

However, before the Internet could enjoy the new music suggested by Swift herself, a lot of social media users trolled the Norwegian alternative musician and dubbed her as “problematic” once again in relation to her October 2020 tweet where she cleared the air on why 'lesbian' was her my least favorite word in the entire world.
 
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Who is Girl in Red?

Marie Ulven or Girl in Red is best known for her songs on mental health, infatuation, and heartbreaks. The 23-year-old Norwegian indie-pop singer-songwriter first shot to fame with her bedroom pop songs about queer romance and mental health. Before releasing her debut album, the singer also dropped two EPs namely ‘Chapter 1’ (2018) and ‘Chapter 2’ in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Girl in Red also has a viral song to her credit called ‘I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend’. With close to 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify, she also collaborated with Billie Eilish’s brother and producer, Finneas O’Connell.  And, interestingly, Girl in Red, who is openly gay, is also popular on TikTok where the question “Do you listen to girl in red?” has emerged as a way for teen girls to talk about someone’s sexuality.

Why is Girl in Red dubbed 'problematic' again?

Swift might have asked her fans to listen to her new favorite singer but the Internet soon reminded others as why she is “problematic” which led to chaos on Twitter. But did she really do anything again? Well, not really. It is only due to Swift’s suggestion that Girl In Red was trending for all the wrong reasons.  Thanks to her controversial statement in an interview given to South China Morning Post, the young singer had faced a lot of heat when she came out in defense of the same. In the interview, she had stated, “I know a lot of people say I’m a lesbian, but that’s literally my least favourite word in the entire world."

After facing a lot of heat from netizens, she posted an elaborate tweet in October 2020 to explain the situation. She had said, “Hey guys. It saddens me to have to address this. This morning I received a huge number of DMs and tweets suggesting that I am either not gay (?) or that I am "lesbophobic". This originated from a screenshot of one quote from an innterview in which I said 'lesbian' was my least favourite word." She further said, “Firstly, it is untrue that I'm not gay or that I am "lesbophobic". To even suggest this is very hurtful. For those who need to know, what I was referring to in my interview was my feeling towards the actual WORD 'lesbian' itself when used about MY sexual identity." She then added, “Using the WORD lesbian is not my preferred way of referring to myself in conversation" and explained that this is the "second instance in a short period of time" that she's had to clear up innacurate information about stuff she's said or suggested. She also urged fans to “respect and always take the time to understand each other within the whole context of themselves and their lives.”

‘Reminder that girl in red is problematic’

As soon as Swift praised her on Instagram, social media users did not hesitate to crucify Girl in Red on Twitter over her earlier controversial statements. A tweet made by Girl in Red last read, "Its sad that some QUEER people are INVALIDATING and DICTATING other QUEER ppls sexuality. can u not see thats EXACTLY what the ''heteronormative society'' has done towards the lgbtq+ community for centuries?? there are some tiny *ss brains in this world, don't be one of them." Needless to say, this had created a whole other storm which even got a hashtag #girlinredisoverparty trending.

Not much has changed in terms of public sentiment since then as speaking on the same lines, one user said, “Reminder that girl in red is problematic !!” One posted, “Since apparently girl in red is problematic, we should stop saying "do you listen to girl in red" and start saying "do you listen to Taylor Swift."

The next one said, “Omg i used to stan girl in red but she's kinda problematic and idk what to do.” Another tweeted, “It said that girl in red is actually problematic and not a lesbian.” One user added, “Isn't girl in red problematic i think we forgot abt that.” Another posted, “I thought i’ve muted girl in red’s problematic a** why do i still see that f@d on the tl.”